Trend-setting ‘designer’ cars like the Qashqai, Juke and Cube have been good for Nissan and boosted both its image and bank balance writes motoring editor Peter Carroll.

But the firm hasn’t turned its back on ‘bread and butter’ vehicles and a new version of the Micra will arrive in UK showrooms from mid-November, with prices starting at under £9,000 on the road.

The curvy supermini has been a big success for Nissan – and the Sunderland plant where it has been built for much of the past two decades.

• See more pictures of the Nissan Micra in our gallery to your right

Nearly a million examples, spanning three model generations, have been sold in the UK alone since the car was first introduced 27 years ago. And it has been so reliable that Nissan estimates that 350,000 are still on the road.

But for the new car, Nissan has shifted production to countries where labour is cheaper – and Micras for the UK market will in future be sourced from Chennai in India.

UK workers, meanwhile, will continue to build the popular Qashqai and Note models, as well as the new Juke crossover and forthcoming electric vehicle, the Leaf.

The fourth generation car will probably not be the massive seller it once was – but a new Micra is still a major event for the car industry.

And there are plenty of thrifty motorists who will be more interested in the low running costs of the Micra rather than the funkiness of the new Juke.

They tend to be loyal customers too and I think they will like the new car: it has conservative styling which should not put off too many people; the range is easy to understand, and the new petrol engine should be a big draw too.

Micras have traditionally come with three or five doors and choice has extended to more exotic sports and open-top models too.

Efficient

But the new car will be limited to five-door hatchbacks, with just one power plant and a choice of five-speed manual or continuously variable automatic transmission.

It’s bigger but not necessarily heavier, thanks to its new V-platform which is 70kg lighter than the old one.

The car’s rear has been squared off for a more aerodynamic shape and a boomerang shape has been engineered into the roof panel to boost rigidity and reduce body ‘boom’.

Intriguingly, there will be no diesel as Nissan believes its new three-cylinder 1.2 litre petrol engine is so efficient that there’s no need for an oil burner in the range.

There will be three trim levels, Visia, Acenta and Tekna, with the latter offering a comprehensive range of electronic goodies, including satellite navigation and even a device which can measure parking spaces.

The sat nav system benefits from being cheap (at £400) and straightforward to operate. The display is on the small side, but images are sharp.

Inside, you’ll find more room than the old car, with a nice airy cabin, and plenty of storage room for knick-knacks – including a space under the passenger seat cushion. The boot is larger than before.

Dashboard

The dashboard has a fashionable circular instrument pod housing many of the controls.

Some of the interior trim looks cheap but it should prove durable – as demanded by Micra owners.

The new car is tidy to drive, with a tight turning circle and good ride quality – but don’t expect Fiesta-like verve in the handling department. The three-pot 1.2 sounds peppy and should be good for 50mpg plus.

Running costs should be competitively low. Micras have never been expensive to service and insurance costs will be much lower than for the old car.

In its heyday a decade ago, Micra sales would comfortably top 40,000 a year in the UK – but the car market is more complicated these days and there are so many new ‘lifestyle’ cars available that Nissan is more likely to sell around 17,000 examples annually.

The fourth generation car may not break new ground in terms of its looks but will certainly appeal to frugal-minded motorists in search of a spacious, cheap-to-run supermini – and who don’t want to pay the premium for a diesel model.

And while it’s not especially underpowered for a supermini anyone looking for more juice might want to wait until the supercharged version of the 1.2 engine arrives with an extra 20hp.

This will shave up to three seconds off the 0-60mph time, while slashing CO2 emissions to just 95g/km – which sounds suspiciously like a “win win” situation to me. . .